Permeability control in electro‐sensitive microcapsules with immobilized ferroelectric liquid crystalline segments

Nylon‐polystyrene microcapsules with immobilized ferroelectric liquid crystalline segments were prepared, and permeability control of an encapsulated core material was investigated under an external electric field. A ferroelectric liquid crystal monomer possessing both mesogenicity and chirality responded effectively to the external electrical field. Permeation of the material (oxprenolol) contained in the inner aqueous core of the microcapsules was enhanced under a weak electric field (2 V). Furthermore, the permeability of oxprenolol did not depend on the external electric field in the absence of the ferroelectric liquid crystal segments. To clarify the controlled‐release mechanism of the core material, the light transmittance of the polymer membranes was quantitatively evaluated under an external electric field using a handmade polarized light transmittance apparatus. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 1749–1757, 2008     

Theoretical studies on magnetic interactions between Cu(II) ions in hydroxypyridone nucleobases

The origin of a ferromagnetic interaction between Cu²⁺ ions in the Cu²⁺–DNA system which reported by Tanaka et al. is examined by using DFT calculations. In order to consider effects of an entanglement and a dis-entanglement of the double helix chain, three types of structural disorders i.e. distance, rotation angle and discrepancy in XY-plane, are considered in the model dimer structure. All calculated results show that J_ab values are weak anti-ferromagnetic couplings. Boltzmann distribution simulation indicates that the high spin (HS) species exist 21% at 1.5 K by thermal excitation within the model structure.     

Colorimetrie, Photometrie

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Experimental investigation on tunnel sonic boom

Upon the entrance of a high-speed train into a relatively long train tunnel, compression waves are generated in front of the train. These compression waves subsequently coalesce into a weak shock wave so that a unpleasant sonic boom is emitted from the tunnel exit. In order to investigate the generation of the weak shock wave in train tunnels and the emission of the resulting sonic boom from the train tunnel exit and to search for methods for the reduction of these sonic booms, a 1300 scaled train tunnel simulator was constructed and simulation experiments were carried out using this facility.In the train tunnel simulator, an 18 mm dia. and 200 mm long plastic piston moves along a 40 mm dia. and 25 m long test section with speed ranging from 60 to 100 m/s. The tunnel simulator was tilted 8° to the floor so that the attenuation of the piston speed was not more than 10 % of its entrance speed. Pressure measurements along the tunnel simulator and holographic interferometric optical flow visualization of weak shock waves in the tunnel simulator clearly showed that compression waves, with propagation, coalesced into a weak shock wave. Although, for reduction of the sonic boom in prototype train tunnels, the installation of a hood at the entrance of the tunnels was known to be useful for their suppression, this effect was confirmed in the present experiment and found to be effective particularly for low piston speeds. The installation of a partially perforated wall at the exit of the tunnel simulator was found to smear pressure gradients at the shock. This effect is significant for higher piston speeds. Throughout the series of train tunnel simulator experiments, the combination of both the entrance hood and the perforated wall significantly reduces shock overpressures for piston speeds ofu _p ranging from 60 to 100 m/s. These experimental findings were then applied to a real train tunnel and good agreement was obtained between the tunnel simulator result and the real tunnel measurements.     

Mechanism of the decrease in catalytic activity of human cytochrome P450 2C9 polymorphic variants investigated by computational analysis

Cytochrome P450 (CYP) is deeply involved in the metabolism of chemicals including pharmaceuticals. Therefore, polymorphisms of this enzyme have been widely studied to avoid unfavorable side effects of drugs in chemotherapy. In this work, we performed computational analysis of the mechanism of the decrease in enzymatic activity for three typical polymorphisms in CYP 2C9 species: *2, *3, and *5. Based on the equilibrated structure obtained by molecular dynamics simulation, the volume of the binding pocket and the fluctuation of amino residues responsible for substrate holding were compared between the wild type and the three variants. Further docking simulation was carried out to evaluate the appropriateness of the binding pocket to accommodate substrate chemicals. Every polymorphic variant was suggested to be inferior to the wild type in enzymatic ability from the structural viewpoint. F‐G helices were obviously displaced outward in CYP2C9*2. Expansion of the binding pocket, especially the space near F′ helix, was remarkable in CYP2C9*3. Disappearance of the hydrogen bond between K helix and β4 loop was observed in CYP2C9*5. The reduction of catalytic activity of those variants can be explained from the deformation of the binding pocket and the consequent change in binding mode of substrate chemicals. The computational approach is effective for predicting the enzymatic activity of polymorphic variants of CYP. This prediction will be helpful for advanced drug design because calculations forecast unexpected change in drug efficacy for individuals. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010     

Separation of zeros for source signature identification under reverberant path conditions

This paper presents an approach to distinguishing the zeros representing a sound source from those representing the transfer function on the basis of Lyon's residue-sign model. In machinery noise diagnostics, the source signature must be separated from observation records under reverberant path conditions. In numerical examples and an experimental piano-string vibration analysis, the modal responses could be synthesized by using clustered line-spectrum modeling. The modeling error represented the source signature subject to the source characteristics being given by a finite impulse response. The modeling error can be interpreted as a remainder function necessary for the zeros representing the source signature.     

Analysis of the pure-rotational spectrum in the ν28 = 1 excited torsional state and torsional couplings of trans-ethyl methyl ether

The trans-ethyl methyl ether molecule has three low-lying torsional modes, that is, two inequivalent methyl internal rotations and an asymmetric skeletal torsion. The internal rotations of the CCH₃ and OCH₃ methyl rotors and the skeletal torsion correspond to the vibrational modes, ν₂₈, ν₂₉ and ν₃₀ respectively. In this study, the microwave absorption spectrum in the ν₂₈ = 1 CCH₃ torsional state was analyzed for the first time. Nine hundred fifty seven lines up to J = 48 and K = 4 were assigned, and the rotational, centrifugal distortion and internal rotational tunneling parameters were determined with the use of a tunneling matrix formalism. By combining the present results on the ν₂₈ = 1 torsional state with those for the ν₃₀ = 1 skeletal torsional state and the ν₂₉ = 1 OCH₃ torsional state, torsional couplings are estimated in order to understand quantitatively the inverted A/E sequence patterns observed for those three excited torsional states.     

Reduced crystallization time of YBCO in a fluorine-free MOD process using uv-lamp irradiation

We have studied the crystallization time dependence of the epitaxial YBCO films (t = 0.8 μm) grown on CeO₂-buffered SrTiO₃ substrates by fluorine-free metal–organic deposition using uv-lamp irradiation (uv-MOD). As increasing the time (T₀) for heat treatment at the reaction temperature (760 °C) from 0 to 90 min, J_c and the YBCO 0 0 l XRD intensity are steeply increased and reach their maximum values at T₀ = 10 min. This suggests that the heat treatment required for YBCO crystallization is significantly shortened in uv-MOD compared to conventional all-pyrolytic F-free MOD processes, which consume T₀ = 90–150 min for crystallizing 0.4–0.5-μm-thick films. Scanning electron microscope measurement revealed a drastic change in surface morphology between T₀ = 8 and 10 min, showing a good correspondence to the J_c and XRD data which suggest that the epitaxial growth reaches the film surface at the very early stage in the heat treatment.     

Symmetrical transition of an atomic arrangement for 2D Bi films on Rh(111)

The atomic arrangement of submonolayer Bi films on Rh(111) surface was examined using low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). With low coverage, the LEED patterns showed incommensurate (IC) spots. The unit cell of IC was close to c(2 × 4) and had twofold symmetry. As the coverage increased, the unit cell shrank continuously along the [$\overline{1}10$] direction, and the commensurate c(2 × 4) was formed at a coverage of 0.5 ML. At the coverage above 0.5 ML, two different structures of c(2 × 4) and (4 × 4) were observed by STM. When the surface is fully saturated by monolayer Bi atoms, Bi atoms formed the uniform (4 × 4) structure with sixfold symmetry. This is due to a strong Bi–Rh attractive interaction resulting in the two-dimensional localization of Bi adsorbates on the surface. As a result, a symmetrical transition of Bi films from twofold to sixfold symmetry occurred on Rh(111).